Tank opening assembly



W. C. UHRI TANK OPENING ASSEMBLY Filed April 12, 1948 INVENTOR. Willzam C. Uhrz ATTURNEYJ.

April 29, 1952 Patented Apr. 29, 1952 TANK OPENING ASSEMBLY William C. Uhri, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to A. 0. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a

corporation of New York Application April 12, 1948, Serial No. 20,382

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to water-tight seals for tank openings and has particular reference to seals for mounting heating elements or thermostats and the like in enamel-lined hot water storage heaters.

One object of the invention is to provide a serviceable and dependable seal for an element opening in the wall of a ceramic or other enamellined water tank.

Another object is to provide a dependable and serviceable seal which is inexpensive to manufacture and is easily assembled and installed on the tank.

Another object is to provide a seal requiring a minimum of expensive stainless steel parts.

Another object is to provide a seal employing metal parts which are ceramic enameled or plated to protect the exposed portions thereof.

Another object is to provide a seal employing a gasket which is easily installed and which may be replaced at any time.

Another object is to provide a seal which completely covers a substantial area of the tank wall surrounding the opening therein so that portions of the tank exposed by imperfections, which may tend to develop in the enamel immediately around the opening, are protected from corrosion by the water.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter in connection with the following description of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a wall of a hot water storage tank and showing the invention as applied to an opening therein;

Fig. 2 is an inside elevational view of the installation illustrated in Figure 1, parts being broken away and sectioned;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the installation illustrated in Figure 1 taken from the outside of the tank;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a portion of the wall I of a hot water tank which has a protective lining 2 of ceramic enamel and an opening to receive the heating element 3.

The tank is of a metal likely to corrode in contact with fluid contained in the tank therefor it is necessary to support the thermostatic element 3 or any other member inserted in the tank opening in a seal assembly which'prevents the contents of the tank from circulating to the exposed metal of the tank around theopening therein.

\ plurality of circumferentially spaced studs 6 are welded to ring 5 and project through aligned holes in gas et 4 on the inside and outside of the tank and the wall I of the tank around the opening therein. Retaining ring 5 has a thermal coefiicient of expansion corresponding to that of the wall of the tank and may be of corrosion resistant alloy such asstainless steel. In the drawing, however, ring '5 is of carbon steel and is shown as coated with the ceramic enamel 1 to protect it from corrosion. The studs 6 are ordinarily nickel plated.

Heating element 3 has a plate member 8 of non-corrosive material which is provided with circumferentially spaced holes to receive studs 5 and close oil the opening when asembled in place.

late 8 has an annular flange 9 on the inside which engages the overlapping portion of gasket 4 around the edge of the opening on the outer surface of the tank and confines the gasket against the tank wall inside of studs 6.

The outer ends of studs 6 are threaded to receive nuts l0 and when the nuts are threaded home the seal assembly and heating element 3 are finally secured in place and :plate 8 closes off the tank opening.

In making up a seal assembly such as that described, the wall I of the tank is first fabricated with an opening therein and with holes spaced side of the wall is then coated with enamel slip and the latter is fused thereto at temperatures approximating 1650 F. to provide the wall with the non-corrosive lining 2.

Thereafter gasket 4 is deformed to fit over the edge of the opening and overlap the tank wall on both the inside and outside for a substantial distance. Working from the'inside, the previously prepared ring 5 with studs 6 welded thereto is assembled on the inside of the tank and studs 6 are projected through the holes in the tank wall and the previously provided holes in gasket When in place, studs 8 extend outwardly of the nk for a substantial distance. Suitable tained fluid to exposed metal.

6. A seal for an opening in the wall of a metal ly disposed th 10 the diameter of the studs to engage the studs and tial surface of the tank radially of the opening, WILLIAM UHRI' a ring disposed against the inner of said flanges, 15 REFERENCES CITED a cover plate disposed against the outside of said g flanges and closing said opening, and studs exg s g s g fi are recold m the tendin from said ring through said gasket and the wall of the tank and adapted to secure said UNITED STATES PATENTS cover plate and ring together with the gasket and 20 Number Name D t the rim of the tank opening tightly disposed ,391,395 McMurtrie Sept, 20, 1921 therebetween. 1,591,057 Schwartz July 6, 1926 7. A seal for an opening in the Wall of a metal 2,064,963 Wheeler Dec. 22, 1936 tank having a lining of corrosion resistant ce- 2,170,712 Goodwin Aug. 22, 1939 ramic enamel protecting the inner surface of the 25 2,330,306 Murphy Sept. 28, 1943 tank, a sealing gasket disposed within said open- 2,404,777 Gaines July 30, 1946 in and having circumferential flanges extending 2,409,907 Shakesby Oct. 22, 1946 on both sides of the tank Wall to cover a sub- 2,450,173 Uhri Sept. 28, 1948 stantial surface of the tank radially of the open- 2,457,066 Pepersack Dec. 21, 1948 

